Saturday, September 27, 2008

Where did I come from?

The poll results are driving me bananas. Harper at 40%? Are you fucking kidding me? Well maybe not if that many Canadians are as myopic as my own mother.

Firstly, she thinks Steven Harper is wonderful, yet Gordon Campbell is evil. WTF? Of course, she thought Thatcher was fabulous (we lived in the UK during the Thatcher years). This from the same woman who was an Ed Broadbent NDP supporter. She also hates Mulroney, Cretien and Trudeau. I just don't understand this woman or how I could have been raised by her.

I have a feeling that my mother thinks that all liberals are created equal (ie BC Liberals = Federal Liberals). She thinks the BC Carbon Tax is a bad thing. In its present form, I have to agree, but she is one of those who has made NO effort to understand the Green Shift - tax what you burn, not what you earn.

While my mother lives on a very limited income, she still brings in enough to require her to pay income tax.

As far as I can tell, she doesn't make many large purchases. Certainly not enough to cause her to pay out more in GST than she receives in GST credit.

This woman is THRILLED at a cut in the GST by 2%, yet doesn't clue in that when Harper took office, he revoked her income tax reduction given by the liberals, and as a result, she ends up with less money in her pocket

Eg.

If mum's taxable income is $30,000, she would receive $242 in GST Credit.

To pay $242 in GST at the old rate of 7%, she would have to spend $3457 in GST applicable goods and services.

If she spent that same amount at the new rate of 5%, the extra money in her pocket would be $69.15

Her income tax savings over a year at the liberal gov't reduced rate of 15% (down from 16%) would be $300 and at the conservative gov't rate of 15.5% would be $150.

What looks better to you? .5% off of my mother's income tax or 2% off the GST she pays?

My mother is smart and careful when it comes to money, so I am really surprised that she just doesn't "get it" when it comes to calculating savings on income taxes versus savings on retail or carbon taxes.

I also don't get that she just doesn't see that Steven Harper is an environmental and economic disaster. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my mother has cable and watches television.